Poker Cheating Scandals in Las Vegas Poker Tournaments
Professionals Mike Holtz, Eric Zheng, and Patrick Leonard Speak Out Against Prevalent Cheating Incidents in Las Vegas' Poker Scene
Poker pros have been vocal about the issue of cheating in Las Vegas tournaments.
Eric Zheng was the first to speak up. In a lengthy post on Wednesday, the American player recounted an incident at The Venetian where he reported two players for chipdumping. According to Zheng, the floor staff refused to investigate.
Patrick Leonard followed suit, sharing his own experiences. The Englishman with over $3 million in live earnings claimed he had also complained to staff about the same issue. He was told that if the cards weren't exposed, they couldn't do anything.
Mike Holtz then joined the chorus, stating that he had caught the same group of people cheating last year at Resorts World during an $800 Main Event. He provided a video as evidence.
Holtz unfolds the story
Holtz went into further detail in a video posted to his account. The American pro, who also cohosts the PokerNews Podcast, described multiple instances at Resorts World where his complaints fell on deaf ears.
According to Holtz, players at his table were colluding. Every time the nine seat, who was a big stack, opened, the two seat would fold in such a way as to show his cards to the nine seat. Despite Holtz' complaints, the staff did nothing.
Holtz was then moved to a new table where another person from the same cheater's friend group was playing. One of the men from the previous table came behind their friend and started speaking in a different language to him, and again, Holtz complained about potential cheating. The man then ran out of the poker room.
Holtz believes these players are friends with the ones called out by Zheng and Leonard in The Venetian.
Not an isolated incident
Holtz also reported other incidents at Resorts World, including a player pocketing chips. Despite players reporting him to staff, the player wasn't kicked out until four hours later.
Holtz also claimed the dealers were exposing cards to players. When he complained, Holtz was labeled a "crybaby" by a member of staff. "A dealer should never talk to a player like that," Holtz said. "He should be fired on the spot."
Holtz believes that cheating is a major issue in the poker community and needs to be challenged by players before it becomes overwhelming. "That's what poker has devolved into at this point," Holtz said. "It's about who can cheat better. We have to come together as a community and say fuck this bullshit. Stop cheating us."
"I feel like I have burned some of my social credit because I keep talking about this so vocally, and I don't want to be that guy. But someone has to be that guy man," Holtz said, before concluding by praising the Wynn Las Vegas, stating that they handle cheating better than other casinos.
Enrichment Insights
The persistence of high-profile cheating incidents in Las Vegas casinos can be attributed to evolving methods, potential investigative gaps and legal ambiguity. For instance, edge-sorting, like in Phil Iveyβs case, requires complex forensic-level scrutiny to detect. Furthermore, high-volume casinos may prioritize visible threats over subtle, long-term cons, and advantage-play techniques like card memorization exist in the gray area of prosecution.
Improvement strategies can be implemented to curb such instances. These include the use of AI-driven analytics, card/tournament standardization, training for staff, legal/industry measures, amongst others. For example, Nevada-specific precedents can set actionable standards, and whistleblower incentives can encourage reporting.
Cases like James Kerrβs laundering and Veronica Brill's whistleblowing demonstrate the need for proactive measures to counter increasingly sophisticated threats. As global cases highlight, Las Vegas casinos need to adopt these measures to protect the integrity of the game.
- Mike Holtz, an American poker professional and cohost of the PokerNews Podcast, recounted his experiences of cheating in Las Vegas tournaments, specifically at Resorts World.
- Holtz mentioned claims of players colluding and card-exposing at Resorts World, despite repeatedly reporting such incidents to the staff.
- Holtz believes there's a friendship-network of cheaters in the Las Vegas poker scene, some of whom have been previously called out by Eric Zheng and Patrick Leonard at The Venetian.
- Holtz shared other incidents at Resorts World, such as a player pocketing chips and dealers exposing cards to players, which went unaddressed by the staff.
- Holtz emphasized the need for the poker community to challenge the rampant cheating in the scene, calling for action against such incidents to protect the integrity of the game, citing the Wynn Las Vegas as an example of a casino handling cheating better than others.
